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Social Movements Stand with Lula Ahead of His Court Testimony

Supporters of former Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Siva stand next to the Federal Justice headquarters in Curitiba. (Photo: Reuters).

Numerous legal petitions and appeals have been submitted to try to overturn Lula’s sentence but all have failed so far

Social movements accompanied by Brazilian political leaders waited for former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Wednesday outside the Federal Police Superintendency in Curitiba, to accompany him on his first time out of prison in six months, in order to testify at court in relation to alleged crimes of corruption.

Greisi Hoffmann, president of the Workers’ Party (PT) and former presidential candidate, Fernando Haddad were among the high-profile figures at the gathering outside of the prison.

“How can you condemn a man who has committed no unlawful acts. Criminal law requires the Act, the personality, to have committed something. Lula is being sued by politics,” Hoffmann said addressing the crowd.

“What we have here today is a theater to condemn Lula again. Brazil is being the reason for international vexation. The greatest jurists in the world condemn what is happening with Lula ”

The trial against Lula has been denounced as a judicial persecution to leave him out of the presidential elections that were held last October and in which he was as favorite according to opinion polls.

“We all know that Lula was condemned and imprisoned unjustly so that he could not be a candidate for president of the republic, because otherwise he would be our candidate and he would be elected once again,” said retired sociologist Isa Godoy at the gathering.

“The forces of the right, the fascist forces, the powerful financial forces did everything to keep him imprisoned and lose his voice.”

Numerous legal petitions and appeals have been submitted to try to overturn Lula’s sentence but all failed to pass as Lula, his allies and supporters believe that the judicial process against him is being led by his political adversaries and the right-wing political establishment.

This claim has been endorsed by human rights organizations, world leaders, including the United Nations, which had requested that Lula be allowed to exercise his electoral and political rights freely, a request that was rejected Brazilian courts ahead of the elections in October.